george21

Hello! This is my first post on TheGradCafe, and I really need your advice. I was accepted to both UIUC ECE and Princeton EE departments with full fellowships. I visited both campuses and talked at length with prospective advisors from each department. I'll list what I consider to be pros and cons for each school and in doing so I may gain insight on which school I will be able to be most productive and happy with. Pros for UIUC: Highly ranked ECE department Great advisor with pretty interesting research project (fully funded project by DoD and private company) Flexible coursework schedule on path to PhD No written qualifier, only presentation of research and grilling Great shared facilities Cons for UIUC: Location, location, location Huge department teeming with grad students State school, so the intellectual atmosphere may be lacking (this is a big factor for me) Pros for Princeton: All-around world class university with high name impact Advisor is likely better than at UIUC (coaching students on presentations, weekly meetings in person, very well known for his work, high placement to great companies in industry) Good shared facilities (PRISM) Private university with a small cohort of graduate students Highly intellectual atmosphere Beautiful campus Closer to home Same qual situation as at UIUC I could probably see my girlfriend once a month since the drive isn't too terrible from Princeton to her home Cons for Princeton: Not as highly ranked as UIUC Doesn't have a materials science department, so classes I would like to take in that discipline would not be as good as at UIUC After writing this, it seems pretty clear that Princeton is a better fit. However, my ego wants me to go to the best school and get the best education possible. Do you guys think this is unwarrented, given that the two are so close in rank (UIUC is 4th and Princeton is 11th in ECE/EE)? The funding situation at either school is full tuition + 26-29k stipend, so, adjusting for the cost of living, they're basically equivalent. Any insight on pros/cons that I may be overlooking? General thoughts/opinions on these two schools?